Device for applying glue to book-covers.



T. s. ETHEHlDGE. DEVICE FOR APPLYING GLUE TO BOOK COVERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1913. 1 ,140,450, Patented May 25, 1915.

. V 2 SHEETS-SHEET l- T. S. ETHEBIDGE.

DEVICE FOR APPLYING GLUE TO BOOK COVERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 19m.

l lk caCfis Patented May 25, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

O I O wi massas THEODORE S. ETHEBIDGE,.OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

DEVICE FOR APPLYING GLUE TO BOOK-COVERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application filed June 4, 1913. Serial No. 771,745.

1'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE S. ETHER- iocn, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent andState of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDevices for Applying Glue to Book- (overs; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for applying glue tobook covers, and more partlcularly to applying glue to a narrow surfaceof paper covers so that they may be glued to the backs of the books, andits object is to provide a device of this character which willeffectually perform the above operation, will accommodate and 0perateupon book covers of various sizes, to provide means for conveying thebook covers from the machine to a position where they may be applied tothe books and to provide the device with various new and useful featureshereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in theclaims.

In the art of book binding, and especially in binding paper coveredbooks, such as pamphlets, catalogues, etc., it is customary to altix thepaper cover to the book by gluing it thereto along the back edge of thebook, and sometimes a narrow portion of the outer leaf adjacent the backof the book is also glued to the cover and the cover provided with scorelines so that it may be folded outward at the termination of the gluedsurface. It has-been common practice in affixing the boolgcovers, tomanually apply the glue to the back-edge of the book and to such surfaceof the outer leaf as desired, by means of an ordinary brush. This methodhas been unsatisfactory, in that, it was exceedingly slow and the gluecould not be spread evenly, etc.

This invention provides means by which the glue may be applied in astrip the desired width directly upon the paper cover, and this cover isthen affixed to the book which completes the operation. The device isadapted to automatically apply the glue to the book cover by causing thesaid cover to pass over and engage a wheel, the periphery of which is ofa width equal to the desired width of the surface to be coated withglue, and the lower edge of this wheel runs in glue contained in a gluepot beneath the wheel which supplies the necessary glue.

The preferred construction and arrangement of the device will more fullyappear by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is aperspective View of a device embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a planview of the same with parts broken away; Fig. 3 is a vertical section onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on theline 47- of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional elevation of aportion of the device showing the feed rollers and conveying rollers;Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 66 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 is aperspective view of the glue wheel and glue scraper.

Like numbers refer to like parts in all of the figures.

1 represents the frame which comprises essentially two upright sidemembers spaced apart and joined at their upper edges by flat plates 2and 3, which form table surfaces. A shaft 4 extends transversely acrossthe frame near its middle portion, and on this shaft are mounted twofeed rollers 55, the upper surfaces of which are approximately levelwith the table 2. These rollers are spaced apart upon the shaft leavinga gap between them near the center of the device, and in this gap and onthe shaft 4 is mounted a gluing wheel 6 slightly larger in diameter thanthe said feed rollers. Pressure rollers 7 are located directly above thefeeding rollers and are mounted on a shaft 8 and spaced apart thereon,leaving a gap between them opposite the gluing wheel 6. The shaft 8 hasa free vertical movement and the rollers 7 are sufiiciently heavy tocause enough frictional engagement of the cover with the rollers 5 tofeed the cover forward in contact with the gluing wheel. A glue pot 9,preferably provided as shown with a water boiler and gas heater, bywhich the glue may be kept at the desired temperature, is locatedbeneath the gluing wheel 6, and the lower part of this wheel isconstantly immersed in the glue. As the wheel is rotated a considerablequantity of the glue will adhere to its surface, and a glue scraper 10in the form of a bifurcated plate straddles the wheel and removes thesurplus glue therefrom leaving only a suflicient quantity to be properlyapplied to the cover. This glue scraper is adjustable, being fastened bya screw, which passes through a slot in the scraper so that it may beadjusted to permit more or less of the glue to remain on the wheel.

A slidable feed bar 11 extends transversely across the table surface 2and is provided at each end with shoes 12 which traverse ways 13provided on the side members of the frame whereby the bar is maintainedparallel with the feeding rollers and enables the operator to feed thebook covers squarely between the same by sliding the bar in contact withthe rear edge of the cover. On this bar an adjustable stop 14 isprovided which locates the cover laterally in the device.

The covers are taken from the feeding rollers by the conveying rollers14 and 15. The lower pair of rollers 14 are aflixed on a shaft 14journaled in the frame and are driven by endless belts 16, which engageover the feed rollers 5. The upper conveying rollers 15 are mounted on ashaft 15, which is vertically movable in theframe, and these upperrollers serve as pressure rollers to maintain a frictional engagementbetween the lower rollers and the cover as it passes between them. Bothof the rollers in each set are spaced apart leaving a gap at the middleof the machine so that the freshly 4 glued surface will not be engagedas the cover passes between the rollers.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 5 that the driving belt 16, whichrotates the con; veyer roller 14, engages a groove 17 ln the said rollerand this groove is deeply cut into the surface of the roller, whereasthe corresponding groove in the feeding roller 5 18 only deep enough tolet the dr ving belt flush with the periphery of the said roller. Theresult of this construction is that the peripheral speed of theconveying roller 14 is greater than that of the feeding roller 5, andthe cover, after being released by the said feeding rollers, is drawnaway from them by the conveying rollers at a speed greater than that ofthe feeding rollers. This prevents the glue wheel from scraping the edgeof the cover and depositing an excess of glue thereon.

The table 3 between the feeding and conveying rollers is provided with alongitudinal depression 3 opposite the gluing wheel so that the freshlyglued surface of the book cover will not engage the table as it passesover the same. After leaving the conveying rollers the cover is carriedfrom the machine upon a pair of conveying belts 18, which pass over thelower conveying roller and are supported at their opposite ends bysuitable pulleys (not shown).

The driving pulley 19, on the feed roller shaft 4, may be removed andsubstituted by a crank, so that the device may be manually operated ifso desired.

' greater peripheral speed It will be noted that the gluing wheel 6 isslightly larger in diameter than the feeding rollers 5, which insures apositive engagement between the wheel and the cover.

is enlargement in diameter of the wheel causes the cover to curve upwardat the point where it passes over the wheel and the periphery of thesame is transversely convex to conform to the curvature assumed by thecover. The width of the gluing wheel governs the width of the gluedsurface, and the wheel may be removed and replaced by others of variouswidths to accommodat pork requiring various widths of glued surace.

In using the device, the operator first places the book cover upon thetable 2 with. the rear edge against the feed bar 11, and laterallyadjusted by the stop 14:. The feed bar is then moved forward whichforces the forward edge of the book cover between the feeding rollerswhich grip the cover and carry it forward over. the gluing wheel and Yin contact therewith. After leaving the feeding rollers, the coverpasses over the table 3 and is gripped by the conveying rollers, whichcarry it from the device and deposit it upon the conveying belts 18,which carry it to the desired location.

What I claim is 1. A device for applying glue to book 'covers,comprising a pair of superimposed feeding rollers, a wheel in axialalinement with the lower roller and rotating with the same, and a gluepot beneath the glue Wheel. 2. A device for applying glue to bookcovers, comprising two pair of superimposed feeding rollers, axialalinement with the lower rollers and in the space between them, and aglue pot beneath the glue wheel.

3. A device for applying glue to book covers, comprising two pair ofsuperimposed feeding rollers spaced apart, a wheel arranged less thanthe length of a book cover from the feeding rollers, and means forrotating the conveying rollers at a than that of the feeding rollers.

5. A device for applying glue to book covers, comprising two pa r ofsuperimposed feeding rollers spaced apart, a wheel spaced apart, a wheelin between the lower feeding rollers and in axial alinement therewith, aglue pot beneath the wheel, two pair of superimposed conveying rollersspaced apart and arranged less than the length of a book cover from thefeeding rollers, a belt running in a shallow groove in one of the lowerfeeding rollers and in a deeper groove in one of the lower conveyingrollers to drive the latter, and means for rotating the feeding rollers.

6. A device for applying glue to book covers, comprising feeding rollersand conveying rollers spaced apart a less distance than the length of abook cover, a wheel adapted to rotate with its lower edge immersed inglue and a table between the feeding rollers and the conveying rollers,said table having a longitudinal depression opposite the said wheel.

7. A device for applying glue to book covers, comprising two pair ofsuperimposed feeding rollers spaced apart, a wheel centrally located inthe space between the lower feeding rollers and in axial alinementtherewith and larger in diameter than the same, to curve a cover upward,the eriphcry of the wheel being convex to con orm to the curvature ofthe cover.

8. A device for applying glue to book covers, comprising two pair ofsuperimposed feeding rollers spaced apart, a wheel in the space betweenthe lower feeding rollers and in axial alinement therewith and alsolarger in diameter than the same, to curve the cover, the periphery ofthe wheel being convex to conform to the curvature of the cover, a gluepot beneath the wheel, a table in advance of the feeding rollers, a barslidable upon said table, a stop adjustable upon the bar, two pair ofsuperimposed conveying rollers spaced apart and arranged less than thelength of the cover from the feeding rollers, belts engaging shallowgrooves in the lower feeding rollers, and deeper grooves in the lowerconveying rollers, a table between the feeding rollers and conveyingrollers having a longitudinal depression opposite the Wheel, and beltsengaging the lower conveying rollers to take the book covers from thedevice.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THEQDORE S. ETHERIDGE.

Witnesses:

O. E. MUNN, HAROLD O. VAN AN'rwERr.

